HEAD-TO-HEAD · FACTS ONLY
Workforce Protector vs Noma: AI endpoint control facts side by side
Short answer
By The Device Desk · Endpoint AI Finder · Published 2026-10-11
Desk research from public vendor pages read on 27 September and 11 October 2026. Profiles follow our published method; we did not run the products.
Vendor pages read September and October 2026 · updated 2026-10-13
Where do their controls sit?
- Filled or hatched marker: Workforce Protector
- Dashed teal ring: Noma, described
- DEV Filled marker: described on the product pages we read
- DEV Hatched marker: partly described (another component, a narrower scope, or method not detailed)
- DEV Dashed marker: not in our sources (it may exist; we did not find it)
What are the facts, side by side?
| Fact | Workforce Protector | Noma |
|---|---|---|
| Owner | Akamai (formerly LayerX; acquisition date not stated on the page) | None |
| Positioning | Akamai Workforce Protector, formerly LayerX, is a browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari that controls prompts, responses, agent actions and data exchanges across AI, SaaS, web and desktop applications, including agentic browsers and AI assistants, without proxies or a browser replacement. | An AI security platform with AI-SPM, Agent Access Control, AI detection and response and AI red teaming, covering agents on endpoints, in SaaS and in homegrown apps. |
| How it reaches devices | A browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari; Akamai says it needs no proxies and no browser replacement. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Discovers endpoint agents through your existing EDR or MDM, with no new endpoint agent to deploy. Source: Noma Security: endpoint agents · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| On-device controlDiffers | Partly describedThe page says its controls reach desktop applications; how that works on the device is not described on the page we read. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | DescribedDiscovers endpoint agents such as Claude Code, Cursor and Codex with their MCP servers and skills, blocks unauthorized and malicious ones, and inspects activity at runtime. Source: Noma Security: endpoint agents · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Browser extensionDiffers | DescribedA browser extension for Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Safari that controls prompts, responses, agent actions and data exchanges. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. |
| Network or SSE proxy | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. |
| AI or MCP gateway | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. | Not in our sourcesNot described on the pages we read. |
| Names the coding agents it coversDiffers | Not in our sources | MatchesNames Claude Code, Cursor and Codex. Source: Noma Security: endpoint agents · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Decides on a tool call before it runs | PartlyControls agent actions, including in agentic browsers; decisions on coding agent tool calls are not described. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | PartlyRuntime inspection of the event, the session, the identity behind the agent and the data it reaches; decisions on individual tool calls are described less specifically. Source: Noma Security: endpoint agents · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Controls what goes into browser AIDiffers | MatchesControls prompts and data exchanges, with warn, redact, block and guide. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Not in our sources |
| Rolls out through EDR or device management you runDiffers | Not in our sources | MatchesThrough your existing EDR or MDM, with no new endpoint agent. Source: Noma Security: endpoint agents · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Can warn or ask instead of only blockingDiffers | MatchesWarn and guide are actions alongside redact and block. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | PartlyStates that runtime decisions can route to a human. Source: Noma Security: endpoint agents (re-read) · Read 13 Oct 2026 |
| Can block an agent, tool or action | MatchesBlock is one of its actions. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesBlocks unauthorized and malicious agents. Source: Noma Security: endpoint agents · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Has a watch-only or simulation mode | Not in our sources | Not in our sources |
| Records who or what took each actionDiffers | Not in our sources | PartlyKeeps a live registry of allowed agents, MCP servers and skills and inspects the identity behind each agent. Source: Noma Security: endpoint agents · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Also covers SaaS, cloud or homegrown AIDiffers | PartlyCovers AI inside SaaS and web applications through the browser. Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | MatchesCovers endpoint, SaaS and homegrown agents. Source: Noma Security homepage · Read 27 Sep 2026 |
| Has a public price or tiers (vendor site or marketplace)Differs | Not in our sources | MatchesAWS Marketplace lists the Noma Security Platform at $200,000 for a 12-month contract (marketplace list price); noma.security has no pricing page. Source: AWS Marketplace: Noma Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026 |
| Built into | None | None |
| Works with | None in our sources | None in our sources |
| Price | Not published (demo request only). Source: Akamai Workforce Protector (formerly LayerX) · Read 11 Oct 2026 | Marketplace list price: $200,000 for a 12-month contract on AWS Marketplace. No pricing page on noma.security. Source: AWS Marketplace: Noma Security Platform · Read 11 Oct 2026 |
Where do they differ?
- On-device control: Workforce Protector partly describes it; Noma describes it.
- Browser extension: Workforce Protector describes it; Noma is not in our sources.
- Names the coding agents it covers: Workforce Protector is not in our sources; Noma matches.
- Controls what goes into browser AI: Workforce Protector matches; Noma is not in our sources.
- Rolls out through EDR or device management you run: Workforce Protector is not in our sources; Noma matches.
- Can warn or ask instead of only blocking: Workforce Protector matches; Noma partly matches.
- Records who or what took each action: Workforce Protector is not in our sources; Noma partly matches.
- Also covers SaaS, cloud or homegrown AI: Workforce Protector partly matches; Noma matches.
- Has a public price or tiers (vendor site or marketplace): Workforce Protector is not in our sources; Noma matches.
Choose Workforce Protector if
- Most AI use happens in browsers and you want to warn, redact or guide rather than block
- People use agentic browsers or AI assistants inside SaaS apps
Choose Noma if
- Agents run on laptops, in SaaS and in apps you build, and you want one place to see them
- You want discovery through existing EDR or MDM without a new agent
Which limits should you check?
Workforce Protector
- Coding agents in a terminal and MCP servers on the device are not described on the page we read.
- The acquisition date is not stated on the page, and no pricing is published.
Noma
- A watch-only or simulation mode is not described on the pages we read.
- Decisions on individual tool calls are described less specifically than discovery, and the only public price is a $200,000 a year marketplace listing.